The guys who take the field after Peyton Manning goes on a touchdown drive got shortchanged in the buildup toward the showdown between the 8-1 Broncos and 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night. In fact, they’ve spent the entire season in the shadow of the record-breaking offense.

But the defense not only imposed its will in Denver’s 27-17 domination of the Chiefs, it sent a message that there is more to the Broncos than mountains of yards and tons of points.

Manning and the NFL’s top-ranked offense fell some two touchdowns short of their 41-points-per-game average going into the game—but the Denver defense made a mockery of Alex Smith and his reputation as a turnover-proof game-manager. In the biggest game of the year, they gave up their fewest points this season.

From the run defense to the pass rush to the secondary, they set the tone that made life easier for Manning, who played on a sprained and heavily-wrapped ankle and had to play key stretches without tight end Julius Thomas (a hyperextended knee) and Wes Welker (a concussion late in the game).

Threat after threat was defused. When Manning and Montee Ball botched a handoff and fumbled it away, linebacker Danny Trevathan punched the ball away from Anthony Sherman on the next play and got it back for Denver. When the Chiefs drove to the 1-yard line in the second quarter, the Broncos staged a goal-line stand and held them to a field goal.

They sacked Smith three times, chased him all over the field, broke up passes all over the field and covered for each other in every phase. They lost key players along the way—Trevathan briefly in that second quarter, safety Rahim Moore for the entire second half. They still held up. Until a handful of drives in the last seven minutes after falling behind 27-10, the Chiefs were on pace for fewer than 300 yards of offense.

The Broncos’ defense stepped into the spotlight in a way it rarely had all season. Its image generally has been that of a unit burned by Tony Romo in a win and by Andrew Luck in its lone loss – but it may have altered that image Sunday.

By beating the NFL’s last unbeaten team, the Broncos defense showed that it is more playoff-ready than most observers had realized.